It has been a very long team since Colin Kaepernick has been in the NFL after his 2016 release from the San Francisco 49ers shortly after he lost his starting spot to Blaine Gabbert. Kaepernick also had three surgeries that off-season, as he performed poorly heading into what would be his final year.
However, it's roundly accepted that Kaepernick is not away from the NFL just because of his play on the field, but his stances and his opinions off of it.
During his final year, Kaepernick refused to sing the American national anthem and famously took a knee during the pre-game to protest against police brutality and racism. This had been off the back a number of police-involved deaths of black Americans including Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Philandro Castile and Alton Sterling.
Kaepernick stated that he would not "stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour", in the aftermath of the gesture and was released by the Niners just a matter of weeks later.
Whilst many teams recognised him to be a starting calibre quarterback, including rival head coach Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks, Kaepernick was never signed again, and remains a free agent to this day.
And with his obvious talent, NFL fans have been clambering for teams to give him a shot when starting quarterbacks are lost to injury, and that has happened again at his former team, the Niners.
San Francisco have now lost two quarterbacks this season in Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, and are now forced to start seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy as they look to win a Super Bowl.
But many are stating that the Niners should consider bringing in Kaepernick. One said: "As a football fan i would like to see the 49ers reach out to colin kaepernick. that would be a crazy comeback story." One Niners fans said: "Kaepernick can run this offense. Let's give him a shot." And another said: "I would rather take Kap than have Baker."
The last comment was a reference to former Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is expected to be released today, with the Niners almost certainly having interest in bringing him in.
Mayfield is the type of quarterback who should fit head coach Kyle Shanahan's system, but has massively struggled over the past two years.
Kaepernick has made several attempts to come back to the league, holding tryouts with teams, and even spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders this off-season, but is still unsigned.
